Seeder.



No. 633,634. Patented Sept. 26, I899. L. A. WRIGHT.

SEEDER.

(Application filed Mar. 9, 1899.;

(No Model.)

Cutest 'INVENTOR I his ocktorney UNTTED STATES LINDLEY A. \VRIGHT, 0

SEE

F OHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS.

DER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 633,634, datedSeptember 26, 1899.

Application filed March 9, 1899.

T0 aZZ whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, LINDLEY, A. WRIGHT, of Ohampaign, in the county ofOhampaign and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Seeders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to broadcast seeders. It is designed to providesuperior means for interminglin g one seed with another,as cloverseedwith oats, preparatory to sowing. It is exemplified in the structurehereinafter described, and it is defined in the appended claims.

The principal feature of the invention is based on the discovery that ifthe discharge end of a pipe or other conveyer for cloverseed is placedin the current of a moving body of oats or the like the action of theoats will cause the clover-seed to flow freely and commiugle uniformlywith the oats. The efficiency of the operation is improved if thedischarge-openings of the clover-seed conveyers are presented somewhatin the direction the oats are moving and a downward feed is best; butadvantageous results are obtained under various conditions so long asthe dischargeopenings of the clover-seed conveyors are in the movingcurrents of oats and the oats do not move directly against the openings.The currents are formed in the oats some distance above thedischarge-openings of the oats-hopper and they continue until thedistributer is reached, so that a flow of some little length isprovided, in any part of which the cloverseed conveyers may discharge.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is acentral vertical section through an oats-hopper and a clover-seedreceptacle supported in the upper end of the hopper. Fig. 2 is anelevation of a hopper, partly broken away, with which is shownclover-seed receptacles in difierentpositions communicating withdifferent parts of the current of oats.

The oats-hopper is shown at 1, the bottom thereof at 2,and theoutlet-openings at The clover-seed receptacle is shown at 4, thedischarge-pipes of the receptacle are shown at 6, and closure-valves forthe discharge-pipes are shown in the bottom of the receptacle at 8.

Serial No. 708,845. (No model.)

In Fig. 1 the receptacle is shown supported in the upper end of thehopper by means of cross-bars 5, while in Fig. 2 the receptacle is shownin solid lines connected to the inner surface of the oats-hopper and inbroken lines connected to the outer surface of the hopper in twodifferent positions. In one case the discharge-openings of theclover-seed receptacle communicate with the current of oat-s below thedischarge of the oats-hopper, and in the other cases the discharge ofthe cloverseed is made into the current as it forms above thedischarge-openings.

The form of the clover-seed receptacle is immaterial so far as theinvention is conoats-ho pper is largel ya matter of choice. Theconveyer-pipes 6 must be long enough to extend into the stream of oatsand small enough to not impede the stream materially. They arepreferably tapered from the receptacle downward, and their numberdepends on the number of outlet-openings in the oats-hopper. In theupper ends of the conveyers 6, below valves 8, are placed removablecone-shaped cups 7, having openings in their inverted apexes to permitthe passage of the cloverseed. These cups are made in sets with openingsof various sizes, the largest of which is'somewhat smaller than thedischarge-openings in the conveyor-pipes, and their principal object isto regulate the flow of cloverseedfrom the receptacle. They have another function, however, which is to retain alimited amount of seed tobe discharged after the valves 8 are closed, and the purpose of thisprovision is to permit the clover-seed to be shut off before theoats-outlets are closed without depriving the oats that are planted inthe interval of their proper admixture of clover-seed. Both seeds areshut off preparatory to turning around at the ends of the field; but thetime for manipulating the valves comes just at the time that the team,

particularly a young or not thoroughlytrained team, needs specialattention, and so it is more convenient to operate one set of valves ata time.

The oats-hopper is to be provided with a distributor for the commingledoats and cerned, and its location with reference to the clover-seed, andthe discharge may be by gravity or by mechanical means. As the inventionrelates solely to the commingling of the clover-seed with the oats, thedistributing or sowing mechanism is not shown.

Vhile the device is intended to mix cloverseed with oats, it is obviousthat its use is not restricted to the particular seeds mentioned.

Vhat I claim is 1. The combination with a principal seedhopper having adischarge-opening, of a secondary seed-receptacle havingdischarge-openings located in the discharge-current of the principalseed. k

2. The combination with a principal seedhopper having adischarge-opening, of a secondary seed-receptacle having a dischargepipeextended into the discharge-current of the principal seed.

3. The combination with a principal seedhopper having an outlet-opening,of a secondary seed-receptacle, and a pipe extended from the receptacleinto the discharge-current of the hopper, such pipe having adischarge-opening presented in the direction of travel of the current.

4. The combination with a principal seedhopper having an outlet-openingthrough which a downward current is formed by the discharging seed,of asecondary seed-receptacle having a discharge-pipe extending downwardinto the current of the principal seed and communicating downwardtherewith.

5. In a seed-feeder, the combination of a receptacle havingdischarge-openings and valves therefor, pipes extending from thedischarge-openings and cups with contracted openings located in thepipes immediately below the valves, whereby alimited amount of seed isretained in the cups for distribution after the valves are closed.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the lVitnesses:

B. D. COFFMAN, W. H. COFFMAN.

